​​Setting up a good governance in Microsoft Teams is standard practice. Tomorrow’s challenges lie elsewhere.​

By Oliver Zeiser, Director Software Development at MondayCoffee.  

Reporting, naming, conventions, lifecycle management for teams and users, policies, approval processes or templates - you need to have all of this under control to enable secure, modern work. And even more so to scale with the organization or adapt to changing conditions in real time. Numerous providers for this can be found today. Microsoft itself has recognized the need for governance tools and offers solutions or has announced them, as the following examples illustrate:  

• Sensitivity labels: Use sensitivity labels to protect content in Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 groups, and SharePoint sites (to the article).  

• Teams app policies: Know about policies to manage access and installation of Teams apps (to the article)   

• Sites lifecycle policies: SharePoint data access governance (DAG) insights V1 - general availability (to the article)   

• Microsoft 365 groups naming policy (to the article)   

• Access reviews in Azure Active Directory (to the article)   

• MS governance reports (to the article) 

So what issues should you be addressing today? What steps are worth taking to ensure that IT remains capable of operating and that users can concentrate on their core tasks?  

At MondayCoffee, we have been thinking about this for a long time. I would like to share some of these thoughts with you in this post.   

Having the ‘after’ under control is even more important than the ‘before’ 

It's clear that a good template engine should offer much more than the standard elements such as teams, settings, channels and tabs.   

For example, what about:  

• Planner tasks, buckets or labels?   

• Or with the underlying SharePoint sites, pages, lists and libraries, content, columns, content types or SharePoint permissions?   

• What about flows? Or with group settings, logos, colors, branding?   

And of course, WYSIWYG!   

A good template engine can do it all. Reproducing identical teams or workspaces using templates is a must. 

But what happens, once a team has been provisioned? What if the users need another private channel, for example? Or another library in the SharePoint site underlying it? 

Shouldn't this all be based on templates and defined governance rules, as well?   

The initial creation of new teams and workspaces and the clean handover to the users is important, but even more important is what they do with their teams afterwards!   

With our Modern-Work-Solution, CoffeeNet 365, end users are not left alone with their teams 'afterwards'. They go through a controlled framework and receive assistance in meeting the organization's policies without being hindered in their actual work and role.   

For example, end users have centrally managed templates for individual team channels, as well as templates for lists and libraries. These make it easy for them to expand their workspaces or adapt them to their needs, even at a later date. And in doing so, they also comply with the company's specified governance rules as a matter of fact, without having to pay attention. 

Continuous changes must be anticipated    

What happens to existing team workspaces when requirements change or new functionalities are to be added?  

Lifecycle management should also, but not only, focus on "sorting out" - archiving and deleting – teams that are no longer in use. Much more important are the teams that are still in use.   

With CoffeeNet 365, changes to templates and governance rules can be easily applied to existing workspaces, even after they have been created, so that they are always up to the latest standard.   

Another use case is also worth anticipating: A team that has already been created needs to be transferred from one template to another. What may have started as a small workgroup may eventually evolve into a project.   

Then the team should also correspond to the project template and get the appropriate features and settings for it. With the Switch Template Feature of CoffeeNet 365, this is possible with just a few clicks. It eliminates the need for time-consuming migration of content.  

Whatever is not there yet, can be done quickly with CoffeeNet 365

Many IT departments rushed the introduction of Microsoft Teams during the pandemic. There was no time for planning and orderly rollout process. Sorting out the mess is still on the minds of some. 

A modern template engine must also be able to bring existing teams workspaces into the ordered structures and configure them according to current governance requirements. Subsequently applying templates to already created teams is possible with little effort using CoffeeNet 365's Apply Template-Feature.  

Detected, reported, resolved in real time   

Of course, governance violations are bound to occur in day-to-day operations. It's not always possible to cover everything technically. Microsoft simply does not offer the necessary options and APIs. Therefore, a strategy for dealing with such cases is inevitable.  

A classic approach to reacting to governance violations would probably be: Reporting!   

IT sees the teams in the reports, which are not compliant. Which, conversely, means that a person in IT must regularly look at the reports and reach out to the users.   

This effort can be saved - with CoffeeNet 365's powerful rule engine and simple IF-THEN rules that can be created by IT and tailored specifically to the templates.  

Any governance violations are thus automatically detected in real time. An MS flow is started, which on the one hand resets the settings and on the other hand reminds the user again of the current governance rules. And not only that. The user can be offered additional help or a ticket can be created directly in the IT ticketing system. Or both. 

Improving the user experience  

The CoffeeNet 365 Rule Engine can also be used to improve the user experience.   

For example, when new users are added to a team, they automatically receive a welcome message, such as an email or chat. The message can be customized and personalized for external guests accordingly.   

If it’s an internal user, a rule can be defined that he or she is immediately added to a private channel ("Internal only"). Without the owner of the team having to do this manually over and over again. The Rule Engine of CoffeeNet 365 also offers such possibilities; and these are configured with just a few clicks.  

The use cases of the CoffeeNet 365 Rule Engine are almost unlimited.   

But it is through such tools that automation is possible, helping end users comply with governance in the long run and quite incidentally.  

Rule the rules 

It goes without saying that the rules in the Rule Engine may have to be changed and adapted centrally at any time. Only then is true teams governance possible, which does not prevent users from doing their work and sharing knowledge but supports them in doing so. And, meanwhile, IT retains full control at all times and remains flexible and responsive.   

What could be more important in today’s rapidly and constantly changing age of cloud?  

Modern Work: Proper preparation prevents chaos

In the Modern Work environment, as is often the case, the devil is in the details. Moving to the cloud is a good start. But to realize the many benefits in the hybrid, the tools must also be configured and used correctly.

Public cloud platforms such as Microsoft 365 play a central role in the digital transformation of companies: the workforce demands apps such as Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 for working in the hybrid, and CIOs are tasked with realizing cost-saving potential by replacing expensive on-premises solutions.

But what happens after that?

Once Microsoft Teams has been installed on employees' PCs and mobiles?

The first impression: simple and flexible

The superficially simple usability is followed by various chaos scenarios, because IT, users, management are often unaware of the challenges of the many hidden settings of Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams is a very versatile application. In addition to telephony, conferencing and chats for communication, there are Teams and Channels for collaboration. More and more additional functions are being integrated. The goal is to integrate formerly separate applications into one interface that works for all devices and delivers on the promise of simplicity and flexibility to users.

At length, it can get messy

Yes, the apps are easy to use. But it's the ease of use that is the bane of many companies - namely, where users work uncontrollably with the various Microsoft applications.

Untangling Babylonian Confusion

The multi-layered nature of Microsoft 365 often means that no one can see or keep track of the big picture in order to manage the necessary digital transformation.

At MondayCoffee we focus on a holistic and integrated approach consisting of software, business consulting, engineering and adoption. This way we address different target groups in the organization and meet their needs and goals.

For business departments and individual employees, we improve the user experience and provide them with additional functions for more productivity in work and collaboration.

For IT, we enable efficient management of an orderly and secure Modern Work environment through automation and standards.

We accompany the management on their way to modern and secure work.

Want to know more? We look forward to an exchange with you.

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FEINTOOL: An essential step towards the digital workplace

Feintool is an internationally operating technology and market leader in the technologies of fineblanking, forming and e-sheet stamping for processing steel sheets. These technologies are characterized by cost-effectiveness, quality and productivity. Founded in 1959, the company has around 2700 employees in Europe, the USA, China and Japan.

Starting point

The Feintool Group wanted to renew its intranet platform with the help of Microsoft tools. Collaboration was only possible to a limited extent in the historically grown system landscape. Collaboration across the group was to be standardized, simplified and made more transparent - on any device, anywhere and at any time.

Approach

With the implementation of the collaboration platform CoffeeNet 365, the use of Microsoft 365 technologies was simplified and the right mix was found for the Feintool Group - based on everyday use cases.

Results

On the new platform, Feintool employees can now communicate via the start page, find important information on the intranet on a daily basis and find out group-wide news. At the same time, users can collaborate easily and efficiently on projects or topics across departments with the enterprise solution.

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FEINTOOL: Case Study Download

20 years MondayCoffee – about paradigm shifts, cloud and corona

Today 20 years ago MondayCoffee was founded. The company’s mission is more important than ever: MondayCoffee supports companies in establishing a digital way of working. 

A conversation with Reto Meneghini, CEO & founder of MondayCoffee, about the changes of the last 20 years, the opportunities of the current digitalization push and what they themselves have learned

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Reto, in the founding year of MondayCoffee the dotcom bubble burst. In its 20th anniversary year a pandemic causes far-reaching consequences for society and economy. How was the time in between? 

At half time there was also the financial crisis...It was quite an eventful time and I do believe that things will not slow down. 

When I think back to the dotcom bubble, where many people thought that the money, we could make with the Internet was pure imagination, then we have to admit to today that the opposite has happened. We have moved into the Internet era much faster than we thought. 

Especially IT – with the cloud. When Microsoft Office 365 was launched, we were among the first partners in Switzerland to sell the product. At first, we didn't know what to do with it – because the cloud was intended to help SMEs professionalize their IT in a cost-effective way. For our customer segment, the larger companies, the cloud was not on the agenda. Their attitude at the time was that they could do it better themselves and would never give their data into the hands of Microsoft. Today we have enough proof that the cloud works. In Switzerland, the Swiss Cloud cleared one last hurdle. 

Were there other paradigm shifts over the last few years? 

Oh yes. IT was a necessary evil 20 years ago. An expensive piece of infrastructure. A classic cost center. Today, IT is a success driver. CTOs and CDOs now sit on the executive boards. Many business models would not be possible without IT. 

“We used to sell our knowledge - from techies to techies - on an hourly basis as a classic service provider. Today, we are a service provider and a software vendor at the same time.”

— Reto Meneghini, CEO & Founder MondayCoffee

What was the impact on MondayCoffee? How is MondayCoffee different today than 20 years ago when you started your business? 

We used to sell our knowledge - from techies to techies - on an hourly basis as a classic service provider. Today, we are a service provider and a software vendor at the same time. In 2010 we launched the first version of CoffeeNet. Instead of doing everything from scratch for each company with the same result, we developed an out-of-the-box software that ensures an optimal configuration of Microsoft 365 and improves the user experience. 

The discussion shifted to the end user and from the technology itself to what the technology can do. Today adoption is on everyone's lips. But 10 years ago, it was very unusual for a technology vendor to talk to end users. Suddenly, we were no longer just sitting at the table with IT, but were invited by communications managers, HR managers and COOs to help them establish a digital way of working. 

In the year 2017 the Office in Munich was opened

20 years ago, we were only operating in Switzerland. Since then, we have opened an office in Germany and also serve German and Austrian companies. We have sales partners in other European countries and are able to acquire new customers around the globe. The cloud takes us everywhere and I am convinced that MondayCoffee will become even more international. 

Speaking of MondayCoffee: How many times have you been asked what is behind this name? What does coffee have to do with working digitally? 

I can count on my hand how many times I haven't been asked. BlackWidow21 and other exotic names were on the whiteboard at that time, when we were looking for names over beer and bratwurst. MondayCoffee was the one we liked best. If ever I made a good marketing decision, it was the choice of name. Exactly because the name is misleading, everyone remembers - that we are different from the others. 

“If ever I made a good marketing decision, it was the choice of name. Exactly because the name is misleading, everyone remembers - that we are different from the others. ”

— Reto Meneghini, CEO & Founder MondayCoffee

What makes MondayCoffee different? 

We are real experts and users of Microsoft products. But we don’t talk to customers about the products or the technology, but what they can do with them. We don't go for the classic feature talk when we present our product but show how we work with it and what the advantages are for the end users. Because they are often overwhelmed by the variety of Microsoft tools. We simplify their life with CoffeeNet 365 and by providing with use cases they can choose from leaving the configuration of Microsoft tools to the algorithms. 

We often hear you say: digitization starts with the employees. Have all employees now become digital overnight because they had to work digitally out of necessity? 

Collaboration still too often happens over e-mail, with a file server and a telephone. Although technologies to make teamwork more flexible, more efficient and easier have been around for 20 years. Companies are simply overwhelmed. They want to become more digital, but then they realize that the adoption of a digital way of working is more complex and it is easier to stay the same. 

In recent weeks, however, familiar patterns have had to be abandoned. Suddenly, everyone switches on their camera when talking over Microsoft Teams. Technologies for video conferencing have been around for over 10 years, and it was Corona that really made us aware of the added value. 

For example, we recently conducted training sessions on Microsoft Teams for a customer. Originally it was planned that we would concentrate the training on one or two days and hold it physically. Because we also always thought that was better. It turns out that several but shorter training sessions via video are even better received. The same applies to contract negotiations. I was always the first to say that you have to be on site for negotiations. Being able to look the buyer in the eye. The last few weeks have taught me the opposite. If this challenging time has had one positive effect, it is that myths have been dispelled and entrenched processes have been changed for the better, even for us. 

“If this challenging time has had one positive effect, it is that myths have been dispelled and entrenched processes have been changed for the better, even for us. ”

— Reto Meneghini, CEO & Founder MondayCoffee

What about the impact of this digitalization push on other companies? 

In times of need, we had to, or rather were allowed to, concentrate on the real added value of digitization. All of a sudden it became clear how important digitization is for our economy. For ourselves. Many will invest even more in digitization in the future. 

What I am personally very pleased about, as a long-standing advocate, is that the potential for home office for service countries (such as Switzerland and also Germany) is now finally being addressed. Many companies and employees will have noticed that home office is a good alternative. A taboo has been broken. 

What shall we do now to make sure this push for digitization does not fizzle out? 

Many people now know how video conferencing over Microsoft Teams works. But digital collaboration goes far beyond that. How and where do we store data so that it can be retrieved even after a long time? How do we plan tasks, work together on confidential documents? Every work scenario must be analyzed, and the best possible use of Microsoft tools understood and implemented. 

Let’s have a look into the crystal ball. How do you see the celebrations of MondayCoffee's 30th birthday? 

If I had looked into the crystal ball 20 years ago and seen where we stand today, I would have said "Never". I'd rather concentrate with the team on today. We have plenty of work to do, because there is still an incredible amount of potential out there. 

Change will come. And I am happy that even at 20 years old we still feel young, dynamic and eager for change. 

Microsoft rolls out Office 365 in Switzerland: What can you expect?

Whether private or business - we all live in the cloud. But what does it mean in concrete terms to leave your business data completely in the hands of Microsoft? And what will change when Microsoft offers its Office 365 on its own data centers in Switzerland, which provide local and geo-redundant data residency? 

Back in the summer, we reported that the Microsoft Cloud will move into Switzerland in 2019. Recently, we were able to hold an exciting event with customers and prospects where everything revolved around this topic - with a focus on Office 365, which has been available for a few days now. 

Our conclusion: Whether in terms of productivity, efficiency or innovation, data management using cloud technology is the future. According to our CEO and founder Reto Meneghini, the infrastructure and organization behind the MS Azure and Office 365 Cloud is beyond all doubt. The security offered - the combination of confidentiality, integrity and resilient availability - is significantly higher than companies can achieve on their own. From now on, Swiss companies will also benefit from the cloud solution – with Swiss data centers. Find out about the most important changes here.  

Primo Amrein, Cloud Lead, Microsoft Switzerland

Your advantages with the Swiss Office 365 

More productivity, efficiency, security - or simply put flexible scalability? The benefits of the functions that are gradually being rolled out in the Swiss Microsoft Cloud are many. Primo Amrein, Cloud Lead of Microsoft Switzerland, tells us directly about the latest developments. 

As in other countries, Microsoft is building a cloud setup in Switzerland - with two geo-redundant data centers in Zurich and Geneva, where customer data is mirrored. The concept is that customers can store their data in the Microsoft cloud without leaving the country. The various services are currently being rolled out step by step. This will be of particular benefit to regulated industries that want to take advantage from Microsoft 365 security and compliance standards while at the same time rely on local data residency. Office 365 is now available. Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform will follow in the course of the next few months. 

Your advantages with the Swiss Microsoft Cloud: 

• Contractual obligation that customer data ‘at rest’ remain securely in Switzerland 

• Faster server access due to lower latency values (the actual speed boost depends on the actual network situation) 

• Office 365 pricing will continue to be offered by EU data centres (higher prices will be charged for Azure services) 

• The same compliance standards as Microsoft worldwide 

Up in the Sky is down to Earth! 

Where data is involved, there is also the potential for legal conflict. Klaus Krohmann, lawyer at BDO AG, shares his views on the legal aspects of this topic for Swiss companies and authorities: Basically, it is striking how unproblematic the Swiss Cloud is from a legal point of view - and that significant advantages can result from it. 

1. Retention regulations: A Swiss cloud offers the advantage that data can be delivered to Swiss authorities at any time and the functions of the cloud technology can be used. This is of particular benefit to government agencies, which can now also store sensitive data in the cloud. 

2. Data protection: The more sensitive the personal data, the more risky it is to store data abroad. This is a major advantage for a Swiss data residence. It also eliminates the need to inform people where their data is stored. 

3. Disclosure obligations: Local data storage has advantages, particularly in administrative proceedings, civil disputes and criminal proceedings. Access is easier and cheaper within Switzerland. 

Klaus Krohmann, Lawyer, BDO AG

CLOUD Act & Data Cloud: What does the law mean for the cloud? 

In European countries like Switzerland, different legal norms apply than in the United States. What is new is the potential for conflict that every new transnational technology brings with it on the subject of data protection. One example is the so-called CLOUD Act ("Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data"). This is an American law of 23 March 2018, which, despite its abbreviation, has nothing to do with the data cloud, but is aimed at the handling of data overseas. According to this law, IT service providers such as Microsoft are subject to an obligation to surrender data and must give US authorities access to stored data - even if the data is located outside the USA. The enforceability of this US law in other countries such as Switzerland, where in some cases contradictory legal norms apply, is highly controversial. This means that it is unclear how corresponding US criminal threats would result - regardless of whether the data is stored in the cloud or on an on-premise server. 

Ultimately, each company must decide for itself how to deal with such legal uncertainties. 

Would you like to learn more about Microsoft Swiss Cloud with Office 365? We would be happy to talk to you. 

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BÜHLER GROUP: Creating a future-oriented working environment for a digitally efficient organization

Bühler is an internationally active Swiss technology group. As a global company with 13,000 employees in 140 countries, Bühler needed a single platform for information, communication, and collaboration among its workforce and with external stakeholders.

MondayCoffee's cloud software, which intelligently combines Microsoft's most important technologies on a user-friendly and standardized platform, enabled the company to access, share and distribute all relevant information and knowledge - anywhere and anytime. Global teams can work more efficiently and improve collaboration with customers, partners and suppliers. Bühler has created a future-proof working environment for a digitally efficient organization.

ALSO launches MondayCoffee collaboration solution in the Cloud Marketplace

January 31st, 2017

ALSO is expanding its Cloud Marketplace to include EspressoNet 365, a solution for small to medium-sized enterprises that facilitates collaboration with colleagues, customers, or suppliers in one virtual space, at the push of a button. Created by MondayCoffee, an award-winning Swiss Microsoft Gold certified partner, EspressoNet 365 is based on Microsoft Office 365 technology. With proven structure, design and features, it helps companies to manage their workflows intelligently, both internally and externally.

Order confirmations, proposals, bills – all relevant content can be stored in one place, easily accessed and co-edited by colleagues as well as shared with customers at any time, anywhere and on any device, supported by the security of the Microsoft enterprise software and cloud infrastructure. Instead of sending emails, news can be published on the same tool, or via more interactive features such as blogs to keep everyone up to date. 

“By introducing premium Office 365 add-ons to the ALSO Cloud Marketplace, we continue to demonstrate how users can get the most out of their existing services. EspressoNet 365 is a great example of our growing Vertical Cloud Services portfolio that is built to fit our customers’ needs, and we are delighted to have them as a partner,” said Thorlakur Thorgeirsson, Cloud ISV Manager at ALSO Holding AG.

EspressoNet 365 can be installed in less than one hour and, thanks to EspressoNet’s intuitive user interface, employees can be trained remotely in no more than one day.

“We are convinced that EspressoNet 365 can help professionals to simplify their work lives while enjoying the reliability and security of Microsoft technology. Partnering with ALSO allows us to take EspressoNet 365 onto the international stage and further promote effective collaboration practices. We are very much looking forward to working with ALSO,” said Reto Meneghini, founder and CEO of MondayCoffee.

For further information and access to the ALSO Cloud Marketplace, please visit: www.also.cloud.

Started as a small consultancy to become specialists in the field of collaboration

In an interview (in German only) with David Klier, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of IT-Markt, Reto Meneghini, CEO of MondayCoffee, talks about the start of the company during the Dotcom Bubble Burst, why the greenfield approach with customers led to the development of today's ready-to-use products CoffeeNet and EspressoNet, and how the Cloud enabled their breakthrough.